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Mr. Speaker, as I said, we are certainly not the first Canadian government to use this procedure.

It is also evident that neither the hon. member who asked the question nor I were privy to these discussions that took place at the House leaders' meeting. However, there has been a clear indication that this bill is starting to drag. After nine appearances here in the House, and a similar number in the committee, we want to move this bill forward.

What is the urgency? The urgency is clear. If the member takes the time to read the bill, and I hope that he has, he will see that these are real improvements in our criminal justice system. The consultations that took place both inside and outside the House clearly indicate that these are positive, proactive changes that victims, in particular, have been waiting for, for decades. Those who work in the criminal justice system embrace these as positive changes.

What is the urgency? The question that I will turn around is, why would we delay further what we know would be a positive and proactive change in our criminal justice system, for which we have seen support coming from the opposition?

The short answer is that we are running out of runway. There are only a certain number of sitting days left in this Parliament. We have new legislation still being presented, like the bill with respect to terrorism. We have a budget that we have to get through.

This is a cornerstone piece of legislation, not simply for the government, but for Parliame

Peter MacKay

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